# State of Happiness (2018)

> In 1969 Norway, the discovery of a huge sub sea oil basin disrupts the lives of the people at the Ocean Viking rig and the families around it.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/71493

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 24
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Siv Rajendram Eliassen
- Network: NRK1
- Cast: Amund Harboe, Malene Wadel, Pia Tjelta, Per Kjerstad, Bart Edwards, Anne Regine Ellingsæter, Paal Herman Ims, Laila Goody
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7005636/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: none
- Tone: measured, wistful, tense, nostalgic

## Synopsis

State of Happiness (2018-2024) is a Norwegian national-television period drama series created by Siv Rajendram Eliassen for NRK1. Set in 1969 Norway, the story opens on the night before Christmas when a gas flare is lit at the Ocean Viking after the company Phillips finds the largest sub sea oil basin in history. Christian Nyman (Amund Harboe) is at the center of the shifting fortunes, with Ingrid Nyman (Pia Tjelta) and Fredrik Nyman (Per Kjerstad) tied to the family as the sudden wealth reshapes their lives. Toril Torstensen (Malene Wadel) and Anna Hellevik (Anne Regine Ellingsæter) bring the perspective of the wider community, while Jonathan Kay (Bart Edwards) represents the foreign oil money arriving on Norwegian shores. The engine of the series is the push and pull between private ambition and communal loyalty as each character tries to protect what they value while the industry rushes forward. Across three seasons of eight episodes each, the drama moves through negotiations, personal betrayals and rising stakes at the rig and in the homes around it. The tone is measured and wistful, with a nostalgic unease about a society on the edge of rapid change. Fans of Chernobyl, Succession and Borgen will find resonance in its patient, character-driven view of power and ambition.

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